Remember Your Safety Harness!

Ladder Safety / September 29, 2014

This summer, two men in New Jersey were doing some roof work when the ladder buckled and the two men fell. One was wearing a safety harness and was able to hang until help came. The other man was not wearing a harness and fell 20 feet to the ground. He was taken to the hospital, but was expected to be ok.

Wear Your Harness

There are three main things we can learn from this unfortunate situation. The first is to remember to wear your safety harness when climbing a ladder. Make sure your coworker is wearing his or her harness before climbing, too.

Inspect Your Ladder

It can be hard to tell what causes a ladder to buckle. Before you climb, make sure to inspect the entire ladder to ensure the ladder is in good working order. Check the ladder rails to make sure they are not damaged. Also, make sure to check the feet to make sure they are not overly worn.

Only One Person on the Ladder

The article does not really explain what type of ladder the men were using or why there were two people on the ladder. Depending on the type of ladder and the weight rating, having two men on the ladder at once could have actually caused the buckling to happen. Regardless, only one person should be on a ladder at once for weight rating reasons and general safety reasons.